Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas — Hotel in El Tezal

We stayed at the RIU Palace Baja CA the beginning of October 2025. The year before we stayed at RIU Santa Fe. Comparisons will be at the end of the review.||The humidity was off the charts when we arrived. They had Mimosas offered at a nearby table at check in. It seems they walked around offering to some as I saw this after we arrived and before we left. We may arrived while the employee was on break or handling another task. Either way the offering was available. Check in seemed long, but possibly they were finding rooms clean and ready. The staff was most polite and helpful.||We stayed in the standard junior suite. We knew the room view was a gamble, but we didn’t mind. We don’t stay in the room much. We ended up with a view of the Santa Fe on the RIU Party side. This also didn’t bother us, but if the sound of bass bothers you, ask for the other side or book a garden view or ocean view. The room was clean and stocked with drinks. We opted for room service daily. They clean and remake the room like it’s brand new each time. My only negative is they don’t restock the fridge each time. It’s possible they didn’t realize there was a need as we only drank the water and sparking water out of it so it appeared stocked. Either way I know I could have asked for more. The tub in the middle of the room is odd. We only used to dry suits. ||The buffet food was good every time. The steakhouse was decent for a resort. Don’t expect Ruth Chris. People line up for this restaurant so get there early. The salmon was very good and the filet was a B my partner said. The only other restaurant we went to on the property was Agave (Mexican). I would have rather went to the buffet. The wait staff at breakfast and the buffet are amazing, but once they see your face multiple times they seem to move on to others they haven’t seen to put on the charm for tips even though we tipped every time. ||The pools are nice. People save chairs early, but we never had a problem going and finding a spot later in the afternoon. The infinity pool has all the RIU activities. If you like being right in the middle of that, go reserve early. The staff will take drink orders all around the pool and they also have an alcohol/drink cart come by often.||We opted out of Elite when booking and I am glad I did. The bar is enclosed and secluded. The pool area is also off to the side and palm trees block the ocean view. I saw no reason to attempt Elite a next time. But, that’s only off of what I saw not experience.||We were there when Hurricane Priscilla hit close. The amount of work that the staff does to prepare for a storm and then fix it back the next day was beyond impressive. After the storm mostly went through, people started going to the pools again. They set up the bar and music and games and food in one of the restaurant locations just in case. The improvising was great! ||The shows at the main stage were good. They don’t have anything good when a night RIU party occurs. I wish they had that for the older crowd who doesn’t care to attend the RIU party. The best part of a RIU party for me are the delicious jalapeño poppers. No joke, for some reason they are amazing.||The Gold Bar is the best. They have better quality alcohol in bottles, Makers Mark, Absolute etc. but you have to ask for it. The Daiquiri is the next best. They also have a cart at night by the stage highlighting two drinks, also slightly better alcohol options.||Now for the comparison-||The kids at the Santa Fe when I went did not bother me, but being at an adults only was very nice. Some adults party hard so just cause it was adults only, didn’t make it more low key and sophisticated.||The food at the Santa Fe was good, but at Baja it was even better and always had something new.||The steakhouse at Baja was a lot better than Santa Fe. Don’t even bother write the Santa Fe one. ||The drinks at Baja were better and the wait staff around pool was nice. The Santa Fe has plenty of bars all around within walking distance of all pools.||The shows were better at Baja minus RIU nights.||Santa Fe has more pools, so although a bigger resort it felt like people were spread out more and wasn’t as crowded. ||If I were to go back, it would depend on who I am traveling with as to which resort I would pick. If you just want to relax and have a good time, you can’t go wrong...

We recently returned from Riu Baja California in Jan. 2025. I have stayed at many many all inclusive resorts throughout Mexican and pretty much all of the islands in the Caribbean. I would put RIU at the top of all of them

There are several things that stand out as exceptional, first the food was phenomenal whether we were in the specialty restaurants or more importantly at the buffet, which is not normally very well reviewed in other Mexican resorts. Reservations were not needed at any of the specialty restaurants and they were quite easy to get into. I think we only had to wait twice in a two week period. A huge selection and constantly fresh. Whenever something was about 30% remaining, it was taken out of the buffet, and a new tray was put in. Great selection of meat, pasta, salad, vegetables, and dessert, desserts. I would rate the food as a 10/10. Second, the entertainment was very good whether it was in the lounge in the evening or around the pool or the amazing pool parties. The bars were excellent and spread out evenly throughout the resort and easy to get all types of beer and liquor, the service around the pool was exceptional and fast. One of the only complaints I would say is if you enjoy high-end spirits, some of that could be lacking, even though they say they do include premium top shelf, liquor. Tito’s vodka and reposado 1800 Tequila was available, however, you do have to ask for it when you order a drink otherwise you receive “bar liquor” They do a good job of keeping guests from the other two RIU properties next-door out as this one is considered the upscale and premium adults only resort out of the three.

The rooms were always very nice and clean one of the weird features in the room was the bathtub is in the middle of the living room and has no walls or anything separating it from the living room and bedroom. I felt that was a little weird, but because it’s an adult only resort it’s not uncommon.

The check-in was extremely easy and quick, and if any of you have been to an all-inclusive in the Caribbean or Mexico, it’s always a run around with never getting the room you booked or being in a bad location and always being told to come back the next day and they will sort it out. Our receptionist at check-in was quick and amazing.

The grounds are incredibly well looked after and staff is completely amazing, whether it is the wate staff in the dining room or waitresses around the pool or in the bars. They are always very friendly and quick with your drinks. Please don’t forget to tip your staff.

It was a great beach out front however it is a little bit far from the marina, my wife and I walked it several times. It is about 4 km round-trip in the sand, a little longer If you try to take the road. Right out front they do have water taxis they charge between five dollars and $10 a person to take you into the marina and out to lovers Beach. It is a very easy and great option.

We never had any problems on the property with peddlers or people not staying in the resort coming in. I found it a very safe atmosphere and you could stroll between the three properties with Great ease. There are your standard locals selling various things on the beach out front and once you go out there, you are bombarded with it, I was a little disappointed They didn’t have a separate roped off Area on the beach out front that you could enjoy without constantly being bothered with people trying to sell you stuff nonstop. But as you probably are aware, the beach is not a Place that you would spend a lot of time as it is a little bit more rockier than the Caribbean sand so almost time is spent around one of the pools anyway. I will say I would not recommend this location or really any location in Cabo San Lucas if you are strictly going for swimming and the beach, this is not a relaxing beach or a swimming beach.

I would highly recommend this resort. We are going back in January of next year and are looking forward...

Detailed Review of RIU Hotel in Mexico: A Disappointing Stay

Our recent stay at the RIU Hotel in Mexico was, without a doubt, one of the worst travel experiences we’ve ever had. Despite the hefty $1,000 per night price tag, the quality of service, accommodations, and amenities fell drastically short of expectations. This resort fails to deliver even the basics one would expect from a high-end property, let alone a luxury experience.

Poor Quality of Food and Beverages

The “all-inclusive” promise is extremely misleading. The food quality is subpar, with the majority of meals tasting cheap and poorly prepared. While the breakfast was the only somewhat redeemable aspect of the dining experience, the six smaller restaurants scattered across the property were downright disappointing. We gave each of them a try, and unfortunately, all failed to meet even basic culinary standards. After the first few meals, we resorted to ordering from UberEats daily just to avoid the dreadful resort food. Even basic requests, such as restocking condiments like ketchup or milk during service hours, were met with resistance or indifference. Staff often claimed items were unavailable until pressed, at which point they would grudgingly replenish them.

Uncomfortable and Poorly Maintained Rooms

The rooms themselves were far from comfortable or inviting. They had a persistent damp, musty smell due to a lack of proper ventilation. Waking up to clothes drenched in moisture was an unpleasant daily occurrence. Additionally, requests for basic items like pillows or blankets took 2-3 hours to be fulfilled and often required multiple follow-up calls to the front desk.

Ridiculous Towel Policy

The resort’s towel policy is inconvenient and unreasonable, especially for families with children. Guests are issued towel cards that must be returned at the end of each day to avoid penalties at checkout. You’re expected to carry wet towels to your room and then back to the pool area to exchange them for a card, regardless of the time or temperature. When I explained the impracticality of this policy, particularly with young kids in tow, the staff showed no empathy or flexibility. This policy created unnecessary hassle and left a lasting negative impression.

Daily Key Card Issues

Another persistent issue was the room key cards, which inexplicably stopped working every day. This meant making repeated trips to the front desk—a significant inconvenience given the distance from our room. To make matters worse, one particularly rude staff member at the front desk admonished us to ensure we returned both room keys at checkout, threatening additional charges despite their frequent malfunctions. The lack of accountability and basic courtesy from the staff was infuriating.

Rude and Unhelpful Staff

Across the board, the resort’s staff were some of the rudest we’ve ever encountered. From the front desk to housekeeping, restaurant servers, and even bell services, there was an overwhelming lack of professionalism and hospitality. Requests were often met with disdain, ignored entirely, or begrudgingly addressed after multiple reminders.

A Complete Waste of Money

For a resort that charges $1,000 per night, the overall experience was appallingly bad. From the poor quality of food and drinks to the rude staff, inadequate accommodations, and bizarre policies, the RIU Hotel in Mexico failed to deliver even the basics of a satisfactory stay. Travelers should not have to deal with these issues at any price point, let alone at such a high cost.

Final Recommendation

Avoid this resort at all costs. The combination of poor service, substandard accommodations, and unappetizing food makes it one of the worst hotel experiences we’ve ever had. We hope this review serves as a warning to future travelers considering this property—spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. There are far better options that offer the quality and service...